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In July 2025, SiPearl announced a €130 million Series A, Exein a €70 million Series C and Q.ANT a €62 million Series A. All three rounds were intended to help European deep-tech companies grow, but they fund different businesses: high-performance CPUs, embedded cybersecurity software and photonic processors. Subsequent announcements also change the picture: Exein disclosed two later raises, while SiPearl was selected for possible EU scale-up investment subject to further conditions.
What the three July 2025 rounds funded
| Company | Round announced in July 2025 | What it builds | Stated use of funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiPearl | €130 million Series A. SiPearl said its final €32 million tranche brought the round total to €130 million. | European-designed CPUs for high-performance computing (HPC), including supercomputing and data-centre workloads. | Industrialize its Rhea1 processor and fund research and development for future processors. |
| Exein | €70 million Series C, announced 16 July 2025. The round was led by Balderton, with Supernova and Lakestar and existing investors participating. | Embedded runtime-security software for connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). | Support international expansion. |
| Q.ANT | €62 million Series A, announced 17 July 2025 and co-led by Cherry Ventures, UVC Partners and imec.xpand. | Photonic processors designed for AI and HPC workloads. | Scale production, develop next-generation processors, expand the team and grow in the US. |
The July figures and round stages were reported together by EE Times. Company announcements provide the details of each round and its planned use.
Why these are different kinds of scale-up
SiPearl: moving processor designs toward industrial production
SiPearl’s raise is aimed at turning CPU development into an industrial-scale business. Its processors are intended for HPC systems rather than ordinary consumer PCs. The company identifies the JUPITER and Alice Recoque supercomputer programs among its projects. Its €130 million Series A supports Rhea1 industrialization and R&D for future processors, according to SiPearl’s financing announcement and its company overview.
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Exein’s product is software embedded in connected devices to provide runtime security. Its €70 million Series C was therefore a software-company growth round, with international expansion as the stated priority. The round announcement and investor details are in Exein’s 16 July 2025 announcement.
#1 Best Overall
- ESP32-S3-ePaper-1.54 development board onboard 1.54inch e-paper display, 200 × 200 resolution, features high contrast and wide viewing angle. Onboard audio codec chip, supports voice capture and playback, enabling AI voice interaction applications
- ESP32-S3 1.54inch e-Paper AIoT development board adopts high-performance 32-bit LX7 dual-core processor, up to 240MHz main frequency. Supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth 5 (LE), with onboard antenna
- Onboard PCF85063 RTC chip and SHTC3 temperature & humidity sensor for accurate RTC management and environmental monitoring
- Built-in 512KB Static RAM, 384KB ROM, with integrated 8MB Flash and 8MB PSRAM
- Onboard TF card slot for external storage of images or files. Onboard programmable PWR and BOOT side buttons for customized function development. Reserved 2 × 6 2.54mm pitch pin header for convenient external expansion
Q.ANT: scaling photonic-computing products
Q.ANT develops processors that use photonic computing for AI and HPC applications. The company said the Series A would help increase production, develop next-generation processors, hire and expand in the US. That makes commercialization and manufacturing central to its stated plans, alongside continued product development. The amount, date, co-leads and intended uses are described in Q.ANT’s announcement.
What changed after the 2025 announcements
Exein announced two additional financings
On 18 December 2025, Exein announced another €100 million and said its total fundraising for 2025 had reached €170 million. In a company statement, CEO Gianni Cuozzo described expansion in the US and Asia-Pacific and called Exein the world’s largest embedded runtime-security provider by devices protected; that superlative is the company’s claim, not an independently verified market ranking. See the December announcement.
Rank #2
- This is is 1.54inch e-Paper AIoT development board. Onboard 1.54inch e-paper display, 200 x 200 resolution, features ultra-low power consumption and ambient light readability, suitable for portable devices and long-battery-life scenarios. Supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth 5 (LE), with onboard antenna.
- Integrated with an RTC chip, SHTC3 temperature and humidity sensor, TF card slot, low-power audio codec chip circuit, and Lithium battery recharge management circuit. Reserved interfaces including USB, UART, I2C, and GPIO for easy functionality expansion and sensor connectivity, providing a flexible and reliable development platform for IoT terminals, electronic tags, portable displays, and other applications.
- Supports AI Speech Interaction: Allows access to online large model platforms such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Doubao, etc. Onboard audio codec chip, supports voice capture and playback, enabling AI voice interaction applications.
- Built-in 512KB Static RAM, 384KB ROM, with integrated 8MB Flash and 8MB PS RAM. Onboard PCF85063 RTC chip and SHTC3 temperature & humidity sensor for accurate RTC management and environmental monitoring.
- Onboard TF card slot for external storage of images or files. Onboard programmable PWR and BOOT side buttons for customized function development. Reserved 2 × 6 2.54mm pitch pin header for convenient external expansion.
On 15 September 2026, Exein announced a further $270 million raise at a stated $1.7 billion valuation. Those figures are company-reported. The 2026 announcement is at Exein’s website; the European Investment Fund also reported a co-investment in Exein at its announcement.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallSiPearl was selected for potential EU scale-up investment
On 28 July 2026, the European Commission listed SiPearl among six companies selected for potential investment through the STEP Scale Up initiative. The six companies could receive a combined €97 million, but that is not a SiPearl-specific award: the Commission said investment depended on due diligence and successful negotiations. The selection is evidence of institutional interest, not a completed investment. Details are in the European Commission announcement.
Rank #3
- 【Flagship performance, extremely fast response】Equipped with a 1.6GHz main frequency chip, the KPU computing power is 13.7 times that of the K210 visual module, and the CPU computing power is 8.5 times that of the K210. It supports real-time operation of complex AI models and can easily cope with high-load tasks such as image recognition and voice processing.
- 【Flexible expansion development】A new 12Pin GPIO interface is added, which is compatible with a variety of sensors and modules; pre-installed GUI program, a large program based on the RTSmart system, contains 30+ functional gameplay, integrates most of the core functions, and each function comes with instructions, so you can experience the fun of AI without programming basics.
- 【Multi-controller compatibility】Equipped with a serial communication interface, it can be seamlessly connected to various controllers, and supports connection to PC computers, MSPM0, STM32, ESP32, PICO, Raspberry Pi, UNO, Microbit, Jetson, RDK and other mainstream controller development. You can easily output the visual recognition results to an external controller through the serial port without delving into complex visual algorithms, making it easy to create innovative AI projects.
- 【Multi-function AI visual camera】The K230 visual module is equipped with a 2.4-inch LCD capacitive touch screen with clear display and a 2MP camera for quick debugging and control. The module integrates a serial port, which can easily connect various sensors to expand functions. , with color recognition, road sign recognition, visual line patrol, face recognition, label recognition, QR code and barcode recognition, feature detection, digital recognition and other functions.
- 【Developers from entry to mastery】Provides original model training tutorials+self-developed upper computer toolkits, compatible with ESP32 ecology, suitable for education, maker and industrial visual project development. Yahboom provides technical Q&A + lifetime firmware updates to help your AI project from prototype to landing without worry!
Q.ANT’s later financing status is not established here
The available announcements establish Q.ANT’s July 2025 Series A, but do not establish a later funding round. The €62 million deal should therefore be understood as the round covered here, not necessarily as the company’s latest financing.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- High-Performance AI Voice Interaction Development Board: Features a dual-core RISC-V processor (up to 160MHz), onboard dual microphone array, speakers, and an ES8311 audio codec chip, supporting noise reduction and echo cancellation. It can easily connect to large online models like DeepSeek for intelligent voice dialogue.
- Integrating Advanced Wireless Connectivity: ESP32-C6 supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, and Zigbee 3.0/Thread protocols, boasting excellent RF performance and multi-protocol compatibility, making it suitable for wireless communication development in IoT and wearable devices.
- Equipped with a 1.83-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD: (240×284 resolution, 65K colors), it offers high responsiveness and light transmittance. Combined with an onboard six-axis sensor (accelerometer + gyroscope) and RTC chip, it supports motion monitoring, step counting, and low-power real-time clock applications.
- Low Power Design: built-in Batt. recharge chip, a Type-C interface, and supports flexible clock and power control, enabling low-power operation in various scenarios, making it convenient for carrying around and long-term use.
- Rich Interfaces: It offers a wealth of expansion interfaces and customization features, including GPIO, I2C, and UART pads, two programmable side buttons, support for external sensors and debugging, and facilitates rapid prototyping and functional verification.
How to read the deals without conflating them
- Round stage: SiPearl and Q.ANT raised Series A rounds; Exein raised a Series C. The labels indicate different financing stages and should not be treated as equivalent milestones.
- Business model and technology: SiPearl designs CPUs, Exein sells embedded security software, and Q.ANT develops photonic processors. Their products and markets are not directly comparable.
- What the amounts do—and do not—show: The figures are reported financing amounts, not measures of technical performance, commercial adoption or market share. No comparative performance benchmark or independently sourced market-size figure is established by these announcements.
- Intended use versus demonstrated results: The stated plans describe how companies intended to use the funding; they do not by themselves establish that production targets, expansion plans or commercial outcomes were achieved.
- Who might use the technology: These are primarily specialist business, research and institutional offerings—not ordinary consumer products. The funding news is relevant to computing infrastructure, connected-device security and European deep-tech development.
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